Violent thug loses sentence appeal

Indefinite jail term upheld

A THUG who threatened to kill the mother of his daughter — while still in prison for harassing her — has failed in an appeal against his potentially lifelong jail term.

Matthew Steven Smith (37), of Chadderton, bombarded his ex with telephone calls and text messages while serving a sentence in prison in 2007.

In August, 2008, at Manchester Crown Court he was convicted of breaching a restraining order and making a threat to kill and was jailed indefinitely.

The decision meant Smith was considered a significant risk to the public and could not be released until he convinced the Parole Board he was safe.

He challenged the open-ended sentence at the Court of Appeal, but had his case rejected by top judges, Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Beatson and Mrs Justice Swift.

“There is clear evidence of his violent nature, both against the complainant and against other women,” Lord Justice Toulson told the court.

“The fact that, even after the trial, he maintained that there had been no offending behaviour and the fact that he was prepared to make the threat to kill and to use a telephone to harass the complainant while in prison is an indication that, without the restraint of being in prison, he is likely to do more.”

Smith already had more 100 convictions to his name when he was locked up in 2004 for robbery and causing GBH to a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant, and was then convicted while in prison of harassment.

But it did not stop his offending, as he continued to harass his former partner by telephoning her repeatedly and, in one call, threatening to kill her.

An investigation showed that the mobile phone used to make the calls was registered to an address in Chadderton and under a name which Smith was known to have used in the past.

Lord Justice Toulson said the effect on his former partner of what he had done was shown when she gave evidence at the trial and tried to withdraw her statement.

His appeal dismissed, Smith will now remain behind bars indefinitely, until he can convince the Parole Board it is safe to release him into the community.